Inflatable ball

ABSTRACT

An inflatable ball includes an inner bladder, an inflation valve, and a seamless outer foam layer. The inner bladder is formed with an air inflatable space. The inflation valve is disposed in the inner bladder for introducing gas into the air inflatable space. The seamless outer foam layer is molded over and encloses the inner bladder, and has a through hole in fluid communication with the inflation valve.

FIELD

The disclosure relates to an inflatable ball, and more particularly to an inflatable ball with a seamless outer foam layer.

BACKGROUND

Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional exercise sponge ball 1 has a plurality of pores filled with air and lacks inflatable space to accommodate more air. Hence, the conventional sponge ball 1 does not bounce well. Since the conventional exercise sponge ball 1 has no inflatable space, the air accommodated in the pores cannot be expelled therefrom to reduce the ball size when the ball is not in use. Hence, it takes up relatively large space for transportation and storage.

SUMMARY

Therefore, an object of the disclosure is to provide an inflatable ball that can alleviate at least one of the drawbacks of the prior art.

The inflatable ball includes an inner bladder, an inflation valve, and a seamless outer foam layer.

The inner bladder is formed with an air inflatable space.

The inflation valve is disposed in the inner bladder for introducing gas into the air inflatable space.

The seamless outer foam layer is molded over and encloses the inner bladder, and has a through hole in fluid communication with the inflation valve.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other features and advantages of the disclosure will become apparent in the following detailed description of the embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:

FIG. 1 is cross-sectional view of a conventional exercise sponge ball;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of an embodiment of an inflatable ball according to the disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional schematic view of the embodiment taken along line III-III of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary, cross-sectional schematic view of another configuration of the embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary, cross-sectional schematic view of yet another configuration of the embodiment; and

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary, cross-sectional schematic view of still another configuration of the inflatable ball of the embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Before the disclosure is described in greater detail, it should be noted that where considered appropriate, reference numerals or terminal portions of reference numerals have been repeated among the figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements, which may optionally have similar characteristics.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, an embodiment of an inflatable ball 100 includes an inner bladder 10, an inflation valve 20 and a seamless outer foam layer 30.

The inner bladder 10 is formed with an air inflatable space 11. The inner bladder 10 may be made from a rubber material, such as polyurethane (PU). In the embodiment, the inner bladder 10 is made from thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU).

The inflation valve 20 is disposed in the inner bladder 10 for introducing gas into the air inflatable space 11. In the embodiment, the inflation valve 20 includes a base portion 21 that is securely disposed in the inner bladder 10, and a valve portion 22 that extends outwardly from the base portion 21 to pass through the inner bladder 10 for a user to inflate and deflate the air inflatable space 11 of the inner bladder 10.

The seamless outer foam layer 30 is molded over and encloses the inner bladder 10, and has a through hole in fluid communication with the inflation valve 20. The seamless outer foam layer 30 may be made from polyurethane. In the embodiment, the foamed material is made from thermoplastic polyurethane. The seamless outer foam layer 30 includes an outer surface 301 that is opposite to the inner bladder 10 and that is formed with a pattern 32. The pattern 32 may be a decorative pattern, such as a soccer ball pattern or a basketball pattern.

The embodiment of the inflatable ball 100 may be manufactured as follows. First, the inner bladder 10 is disposed in a cavity of a mold (not shown) together with the inflation valve 20. The mold has an inner surface defining the cavity and formed with a predetermined transferring pattern that corresponds to the decorative pattern 32 of the seamless outer foam layer 30. Thereafter, a polyurethane-containing foamable material with a predetermined color is introduced into the cavity of the mold and then is cured to form the seamless outer foam layer 30 at a curing temperature ranging from 50° C. to 70° C. so as to form the inflatable ball 100. In the embodiment, since the inner bladder 10 and the seamless outer foam layer 30 are essentially made from rubber materials with similar properties, i.e., TPU and PU, the inflatable ball 100 can be free of a connecting member, such as an adhesive, for interconnecting the seamless outer foam layer 30 and the inner bladder 10. Specifically, the seamless outer foam layer 30 is directly and integrally formed on the inner bladder 10 since the seamless outer foam layer 30 and the inner bladder 10 are melted to bond with each other at an interface therebetween during the curing step. Furthermore, the feel and apparent color of the seamless outer foam layer 30 can be adjusted by controlling the composition of the polyurethane-containing foamable material.

The inflatable ball 100 thus made can be inflated by the user before use.

Referring to FIG. 4, another configuration of the embodiment of the inflatable ball 100 according to the disclosure is illustrated.

The inner bladder 10 has an inner surface 101 formed with the air inflatable space 11, and an outer surface 102 opposite to the inner surface 101 and wrapped with a yarn layer 13.

In the embodiment, the yarn layer 13 includes a plurality of yarns wrapping the outer surface 102 of the inner bladder 10. It is noted that during the curing of the seamless outer foam layer 30, the polyurethane-containing foamable material will permeate into pores distributed among the yarns of the yarn layer 13 so that the seamless outer foam layer 30 is able to bond with the outer surface 102 of the inner bladder 10.

Referring to FIG. 5, yet another configuration of the embodiment of the inflatable ball 100 according to the disclosure is illustrated.

The outer surface 102 of the inner bladder 10 is covered by a cloth layer 14 instead of the yarn layer 13.

The cloth layer 14 includes a plurality of cloth pieces 141 that are sewn together. It is noted that during the curing of the seamless outer foam layer 30, the cloth layer 14 is likewise permeated with the polyurethane-containing foamable material so that the seamless outer foam layer 30 is able to bond with the outer surface 102 of the inner bladder 10.

Referring to FIG. 6, the embodiment of the inflatable ball 100 may further include a skin layer 40 that surrounds the seamless outer foam layer 30 and that is formed with an aperture 41 in fluid communication with the through hole 31 of the seamless outer foam layer 30 and the inflation valve 20. In one form, the aperture 41 is registered with the through hole 31 of the seamless outer foam layer 30 and the inflation valve 20. The skin layer 40 may be formed by sewing a plurality of leather pieces 42 together.

By virtue of the design of the inflatable ball 100, the air inflatable space 11 of the inner bladder 10 is filled with the air through the inflation valve 20, so that the inflatable ball 100 has relatively greater bounce than that of the conventional sponge ball. Thus, the user can play with the inflatable ball 100 with more joy.

Besides, when the inflatable ball 100 is not in use, the air inflatable space 11 of the inner bladder 10 can be deflated through the inflation valve 20. Hence, the inflatable ball 100 can be portable as well.

Furthermore, since both the inner bladder 10 and the seamless outer foam layer 30 may be made from the same kind of rubber materials, such as polyurethane, the seamless outer foam layer 30 can be directly formed on the inner bladder 10. In such way, the inflatable ball 100 is free of the adhesive between the inner bladder 10 and the seamless outer foam layer 30. In addition, polyurethane is biodegradable and recyclable and thus the inflatable ball 100 is environmentally friendly.

In the description above, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details have been set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiment. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that one or more other embodiments may be practiced without some of these specific details. It should also be appreciated that reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” an embodiment with an indication of an ordinal number and so forth means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic may be included in the practice of the disclosure. It should be further appreciated that in the description, various features are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure and aiding in the understanding of various inventive aspects.

While the disclosure has been described in connection with what is considered the exemplary embodiment, it is understood that this disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements. 

1. An inflatable ball, comprising: an inner bladder formed with an air inflatable space; an inflation valve disposed in said inner bladder for introducing gas into said air inflatable space; and a seamless outer foam layer molded over and enclosing said inner bladder, and having a through hole in fluid communication with said inflation valve; wherein said seamless outer foam layer and said inner bladder are melted to bond with each other at an interface therebetween; and wherein said seamless outer foam layer has an outer surface that is opposite to said inner bladder and that is in contact with an outer environment.
 2. The inflatable ball of claim 1, wherein said inner bladder is made from a rubber material, and said seamless outer foam layer is made from polyurethane.
 3. The inflatable ball of claim 1, wherein said inner bladder and said seamless outer foam layer are made from polyurethane.
 4. The inflatable ball of claim 3, wherein said inner bladder is made from thermoplastic polyurethane.
 5. The inflatable ball of claim 2, wherein said inner bladder has an inner surface defining said air inflatable space and an outer surface opposite to said inner surface and wrapped with a yarn layer.
 6. The inflatable ball of claim 2, wherein said inner bladder has an inner surface defining said air inflatable space and an outer surface opposite to said inner surface and covered by a cloth layer.
 7. The inflatable ball of claim 1, wherein said outer surface of said seamless outer foam layer is formed with a pattern.
 8. (canceled) 